9 Best Battery Saving Tips

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A common question amongst new Pokemon Go players is how much battery does the game actually use? Based on interviews with multiple users, the average Pokemon Go player can drain a fully charged iPhone/Android device battery in less than three hours of gameplay!

Now, this may seem like a decent amount, but most people find that their battery drains quite quickly throughout the day. By the time iPhone/Android users finished with school, work, traveling, etc. for the day, many have already lost half of their battery life.

It can be a challenge constantly monitoring battery life and charging your device to make sure you have enough juice left to have a decent gaming session. Luckily, there are some great ways to extend your battery life.

Here are the nine best ways to save battery while playing Pokemon Go:

#1. Manually Adjust Screen Brightness
One of the best ways to save battery is by adjusting the brightness on your screen. To conserve the maximum amount of battery life, be sure to reduce the screen’s brightness to the dimmest visible setting.

Wired.com did some research on this topic and an iPhone with the dimmest setting lasted approximately three hours longer than the same iPhone on the brightest setting.

It should be noted that this test was done in Airplane Mode, which disables cellular services. If this test was done under normal circumstances, the battery life would still be extended a decent amount longer, just not as long as three hours.

Be sure to adjust the brightness on your iPhone or Android device. It definitely helps!

#2. Minimize In-Game Actions
Capturing Pokemon in AR Mode, visiting Pokestops, Battling/Training at Gyms, etc. all drain battery more quickly than if you are simply walking or checking your Pokedex.

Now, don’t get me wrong, in-game actions are definitely the main ways to progress in Pokemon Go. However, you have the ability to focus your battery life usage on specific actions and avoid others for a certain period of time.

For example:
- Capture only new Pokemon, unless you really need the evolution shards for a particular species.
- If you are well stocked on items, skip a few Pokestop during your travels.
- Avoid zooming in and out of the Map.
- Choose to capture Pokemon without using AR Mode (Use of Camera).
- Avoid Gyms unless your particular gaming session is focused on training and/or battling.

As you continue to play Pokemon Go, you will become more accustomed to which in-game actions are best suited for your play style and achievements.

Some may ignore this tip and instead choose to interact with everything in their path (especially new players, I know I will!), but for the sake of this article, every player should be aware of the fact that each in-game action drains additional battery.

#3. Turn Sound Off
Yes, it can be more enjoyable to play with the Pokemon Go background music and the cool sounds that notify you when a medal has been earned. However, playing without music and sound will definitely help to reduce the speed at which your battery in drained.

I actually prefer playing mobile games without sound as it can get distracting to those around you. However, all players have different perspectives as to how the music and sound impacts their Pokemon Go experience.

#4. Close Background Apps
Closing non-essential Apps is critical to saving battery life. You may not be using a particular app, but it very well may be running in the background of your device. Learn how to limit or get rid of Apps that drain a lot of battery.

If you tend to use Apps such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and/or Snapchat, you will be shocked to see how much battery they actually use.

#5. Turn off Bluetooth
Unless you are using the Pokemon Go Plus, which requires Bluetooth to sync with your phone, turn your Bluetooth off. Although, having Bluetooth on (not connected) drains minimal battery, over the course of one day it does help in saving some.

#6. Turn off Wi-Fi
If you are strictly using Mobile Data to play Pokemon Go, you do not need Wi-Fi to be on. When Wi-Fi is on, your phone actively searches for Wi-Fi hotspots in the area and drains a lot of battery life in the process. Keep Mobile Data on while playing Pokemon Go and then switch to Wi-Fi only when you get home in order to help keep Mobile Data usage to a minimum.

#7. Not Playing? Use Airplane Mode
When your phone is not in use (School, work, gym etc.) the easiest way to conserve energy is to simply turn your device off. The other option is to put your phone in Airplane Mode to disable cellular service, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. By disabling these connections, you can make sure that apps are not running or updating without your knowledge.

This is one of the best ways to save your battery on a daily basis. Get into the habit of switching your phone to Airplane Mode before putting it away for an extended period of time. You can quickly and easily turn off Airplane Mode if needed.

#8. Carry Around an Extra Battery
Using the battery saving tips above will only get you so far. If you often find yourself playing Pokemon Go for more than three hours at a time, it may be time to invest in an extra backup battery.

Find out what type of battery your device requires and check out Amazon.com. When one battery gets too low you can swap it out for a freshly charged one. Just remember to have both fully charged before you go out.

#9. Get a Power Bank
A power bank is essentially a portable external battery that can be charged through a power source such as a Laptop or an outlet. Once charged power banks can be carried around and used to charge your mobile device on the go.

You can easily acquire an external power bank for less than $25 on Amazon with 10,000 mAh or more. Generally, the higher the mAh, the more charges you will be able to get from a fully charged power bank.

mAh stands for Milliamp Hours, which is used to describe the total amount of energy a power bank can store at one time. A power bank rated with more mAh will be able to power more batteries, before needing to be charged again.

It is recommended that serious players purchase a power bank to allow for extended hours of play. In fact, many hardcore Pokemon Go players carry around a couple of extra batteries, a portable charger and a power bank to ensure their phones are always charged.

I hope these Battery Saving Tips were helpful. If you have any other suggestions or tricks on how to save even more battery please leave a comment below.

28 comments
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My only question is do you have to have the app running in order to be notified about a nearby pokemon? is that why they're selling the wristband (currently unavailable)? can the phone screen be OFF with the app running? these are the important questions.

My focus is mainly on the catching. It states that the circle needs to be at its smallest, but I've noted that if you throw the PokeBall at its largest size, that you WILL get a nice throw bonus, usually +10XP.. And my catch rates are higher the closer to full it is..

I had the same issue with having a Pokemon right in front of me and not being able to battle. Yep I fed up walking into the garden of a random building constantly clicking my phone looking down of course and nothing -_- only to finally look up and realize there were several employees sitting at their desks staring at me 😯 Yep pretty interesting experience! Lol

lol, you guys seem like losers to me... jk, I've stood right next to shaking grass and also weird expanding circle blips that don't do anything when I tap them. I have caught 9 pokemon so far. Pokemon normally just appear near the street, in front of houses) in my neighborhood.

Mostly I want to not have to physically enter a random stranger's backyard, and I want to battle pokemon to capture them.

What exactly are the feet for where the Pokemon are located?? I know that the less feet there are, the closer they are, however, they seem to be very inconsistent. Some that have three feet are far far away and some with three feet are right down the road.

Anyone have any helpful knowledge about this or know more than we do?? It will be much appreciated.

To answer some above questions with what we've found:

For now the app has to be open and running for anything to work. Turn off EVERYTHING not needed to play. Email, wifi, Facebook, messengers, etc. Turn down screen brightness, sounds, etc.

Hatching eggs, you must be moving at a walking speed for it to register to hatch. 8-10 mph or less.

Moving grass has nothing to do with any Pokémon showing up at this stage.

Catching Pokémon, we have had great success with going old school Pokémon. Tapping the Pokéball like tapping the A button and then throwing the ball with the big colored circle we have had the most success. If they're a bigger Pokémon, we use raspberries.

We avoid going into anyone's yards without permission. Not only is it rude, it's trespassing. You don't know what kind of people live in the house. A virtual Pokémon is not worth getting hurt over.

Please be careful. People are being idiots walking into the middle of the roads to catch Pokémon, etc.

The game is pretty easy to figure out, we just cannot figure out these stupid feet! =]

When in battery saving mode, you can turn your phone upside down and the display will turn to a still image. This way, you won't be wasting battery life on displaying the 3d map, and you can still feel vibrations when a pokemon is near.

What I hear so far is that the feed says how many circles the pokemon is away. ( the circle around yourself) most of the issues I read so far is because of the server problems. The publisher is still working on this problem. (Because of this, the German releas is delayed q.q) good catch, Ryon

One step is 20m, 2 steps is 40m, and 3 steps is 60m or more, from what I've heard. It is also easy to gain candies by catching an unwanted Pokémon and then transferring it to Professor Willow. I am a level 18 player on Team Valor, and that is what pretty much got me there. It definitely helps. Also, don't turn on the camera. That will drain your battery. You also can't ride in a car going over 20mph. There was a major car wreck where i live because someone stopped in the middle of the highway to catch a Pokémon. I hope this helps.

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This following tip should be #1 on your list: Use 'Battery Saver' mode in Settings.

1. Click on the pokeball icon for the menu.2. Click on the Settings icon in the upper right corner of the menu screen3. Click the circle of the 'Battery Saver' option;4. To make Battery Saver mode work, you turn your device upside-down, the app goes into a sleep mode that still alerts you by sound of wild pokemon and new Pokestops.

I Wold not reccomend using the battery saver, because I gave experienced a bug with it. Leave battery saver on for a couple of minutes and the touch may become boken until you restart the game. I don't know if this is just for some users or for everyone.